Drier



F. l. RUTLEDGI. I

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY u, |920. 1,406,496, l Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

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F. l. RUTLEDGE.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I7. I92o.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

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I. I. RUILEDGE.

DRH-IR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I1, 1920.

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UNITED STATES "PATENT ermee.

FRANK I. RFWI'JLEDGE,v OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA'.

DRIER.

To allwtom it may concern Be it lrnown that I, FRANK I." RUTLEDGE, a citizen kof the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsyl Vania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Driers, of which the following y is affidi, clear, and exact description.V y

The present invention relates to driers, and more particularly to driers for drying or curing food products. The invention relates in its more specific aspects to an apparatus for drying or vcuring short cut macaroni.

The present invention will be described more particularlywith Vreference to its embodiment in apparatus for drying or curing short length macaroni. It is to be understood, however, that the invention ymay be otherwise embodied. ,y

The drying of macaroni isin the/nature or' a curing process. To properly dry the macaroni, the macaronil should be preliminarily dried or hardened quickly for about twenty minutes to prevent souring. Care, however, must be taken, that the macaroni is not dried too much and' spoiled.

The illustrated machine is designed to take care of one days output oi' a macaroni cutting-press and to give each individual dr-awer full of macaroni theproper curing.

AIn the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention Figure l is aside elevation, partially in section of the drier;

Figure 2 is a plan view gy Figure 3 is a vertical section along the line III-III of Figure l; and f Figure 4 is a perspective view of the drawers removed.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates the casing of the apparaone of tus. In one end of the casing are a plurality of vertical tiers of drawers 3.

llVhile any. convenient number of vertical tiers may be used, six vert-ical tiers are preferred, as they will take care ofthe normal Voutput of the usual macaroni cutting-press.

Each drawer holds approximately twelve pounds and each load of the cuttingpress consists of about seventy-ivepounds or six 'drawers full. Y

The number of drawers in each tier should .equal the number'of operations of the macaroni cutting-press for a days output. In the drawings sixteen drawers are shown. The sixteen drawers will take care of about one cuttingfpress, since about twenty-five Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 14, 1922, Application med May 17,

1920. Serial No. 382,086. i

minutes are required to run out each press of macaroni. The number oitiers of drawers and the number of 'drawers can, however, be varied to meet the particular conditions encountered. The drier is designed particularly for curlng what is lmownas short cut or elbow macaroni, soup pastes, noodles, etc. The drawers 3, consist of open frames with a perforated bottom 1l, illustrated as made of wire mesh, so that the air may pass Jfreely .through it. The drawers slide into the caslngs as sho-wn inFigures l and 3, so that when the drawers are in place the fronts of the drawers close the drawer openings in the casing. .l

Air passages 5 and 6, respectively, xtend along the bottomand'topof the casing rc.-

spectively below ,and` above the tiers oi l n macaroni-holding drawers. A'fan 7 1s arranged to blow air into or` exhaust air from the passage 5. A similar fan Sis arranged to blow air into or exhaust air from the passage 6.' The fan 7 is` placed between the passage 5 and a chamber 9. rIhe fan 8 is placed between the passage 6 and thechanr y ber l0, which islocated above the chamber 9. In the chamber 9 is a suitable heater illustrated as a radiator l1. or door l2 opens from the chamber 9 to the An air valve outside air. Another valve or door 13 opens 'from the chamber 10 to the outside air. [A

third air valve or door 14 opens between the chambers 9 and l0. 'Ihese three air valves are connected together by rods l5 and 16 so as to operate simultaneously. lWhen the valves l2 and 13 are open the valve let is shut, and when the valves 12a-nd 13 are shut thervalve 14 is open.' Thefvalves may be adjusted so that allV three of 'them will be partly open. Y

The fans 7 and 8 are reversible andmay be operated to cause a circulation' upwardly elbow macaroni.` The fans 7 and 8 are opvIQO erated to blow air upwardly through thel tiers of drawers, the air being drawn in through the valve 12 and through the radiator 11, and discharged through the valve 13 at the top. minutes for the cutting press to` operate, so that after the first row of drawers has been receiving fresh air from for about twentydive minutes, the second horizontal row of draw` ers is illed with the second charge from the macaroni cutting-press. The air blown upwardly through this second row of drawers absorbs moisture and therefore checks the macaroni in the firstor top row from drying too rapidly. The operation is continued, the circulation being maintained upwardly and the successive horizontal rows of drawers is filled, working from the topto the bottom of the drier. Each fresh drawer receives fresh. dry air for about twenty minutes and then its drying is checked by a drawer of fresh macaroni being slid in below it. i

After the drawers are all filled and the bottom drawer given its initial rapid drying', the fans are reversed for about three hours so that the circulation is downward and thereafter reversed again for kabout three hours to cause an upward circulation again. Then the Valves 12 and 13 are closed and the circulation is maintained .through the valve 14 for about twelve hours. Then the valves 12 and 13 are again opened and `the fans operated in each direction for an hour each. The time of curing and the passing of the air Valves 12, 13 and 14 will be determined by the drying but may be varied toV meet the particular conditions Fore'xainple, it is often found that while the macaroni in the drawers near the top and near the bottom is being cured at the proper rate, the macaroni in the middle rows of drawers will not advance rapidly enough in curing. If this occurs it maybe reinedi'edyby pulling out a row of drawers along the middle of the drier and operating the fans 7 and 8 lboth as eX- haust fans, thus drawingin air at the middle of the drawers and causing a morer'apid drying at this place. Aiter the too lslow drying-.at the middle drawers is thus corrected, thedrawers may be closed and the circulation continued in the regular way, one ian 4actingas an induced dra'ftfan and the other as an exhaust Vilan.

Vhile I have specifically illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiment but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: Y

1. A drier oi. the character described, comprising a drying room and means lor sup-portii'if` the material to be dried therein, two cham ers, :aV-reversible vair circulating It takes about twentyiiiienl iambers to the outside atmosphere', and an `air valve .between said chambers, `substan- Vthrough the materials in each direction, sub- `chambers to the drying room and from the dryingroom to the other chamber and vice versa, air valves opening from both vof the tially as described.'

2. A` drier of the character described, comprising a casing, a plurality of tiers of perforated bottom drawers in the casing, air-circulating means comprising two rever sible fans and air ducts extending from the fans to above and below the, drawers respectiyely, substantially as described.

3. A drier of the character described, a casing, a plurality of tiers of perforated bottom drawers in the casing, Atwo reversible 'fans Aarranged to cause a circulation of air through the drawers in either direction, or to cause a circulation ofair in both directions -from the middle.V of the tiers, sub# stantially as described.

4. A drier of the character described, comprising a drying chamber and means for supporting.thematerial to be dried therein, means i'or causing a circulationfof air in either direction therethrough, comprising reversible blowing means and air ducts eX- tendingthereifrom to opposite parts or' the chamber, andn'ieans for supplying fresh air or -for returning' the used-air or for supplying partly fresh and partlynsed air to either of said opposite parts of the chamber, substantially as described. i

5. A drier vof the character` described, comprising a drying chamber, and means for supporting thematerial to be dried` therein, two reversible fans,'and air ducts leading from' the fans to opposite Vparts of the drying' chamber, substantially as described. y y

(3.'-A drier of the 'character described, comprising a Adrying chamber and means for supporting the material to be dried therein, and air-circulating means comprising two reversible Yfans and air ducts leading from the fans to opposite portions of thefidrying the material being dried, said fansbeing k operable to maintain a circulation in either direction throughv the material. or to drawv air into the middle'opening and from thence stantially as described. l i

7. A drier of the character described, comprising a casing, a plurality of drawers for holding the material to be dried arranged in a tier, means for causing a circulation of air through the tier of drawers inv either 1215` Vdirection and for exhausting air from each end oithe tier when an intermediate drawer is taken out toadniit air into the tier, Substantially as described. f

8. A drier of the character. described', 130

comprising a easing, a plurality of drawers to the tier of drawers, and circulation confor holding the material to be dried arranged trolling-valves for admitting the fresh air in a tier in the easing, means for causing a or for returning the used air to the drawers, 10 drying circulation of air through the tier substantially as described.

of drawers comprising two fans, connected In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set by air duets with opposite ends of saidtier `my hand.

of drawers, means for heating the air supply Y FRANK I. RUTLEDGE. 

